Just a little update on my love-affair with platforms, and some snags I've run into along the way.

While I became really fond of unrestrained platforms, I also have the desire to try different types of toe-clip setups and powergrips. It's rather hilly around here and it's nice to have some sort of retention device on the pedal to keep your foot secure when pounding or spinning up hills. My major problem came in finding a setup that would work with my sized feet/shoes.

I wear a size 12, which isn't arguably super big, but it's on the top end of the scale (I feel really sorry for you blokes with 13+ sized feet!). I tried many combinations of platforms (mks quill-type, track, GR-9) with metal toe clip/strap setups (all XL) only to find that my everyday casual shoes were too large, or the tread to wide to fit in and out of these easily. I have an older pair of black plastic toe clips and pedals that did good duty riding in narrower tennis shoes, but one drop was all it took to knock the pressed in dust cap out of them, so I'm trying to avoid these cheap/disposable options.

Powergrips are probably one of the coolest things since sliced bread... or the creation of the xtracycle (you choose). I first put Powergrips with MKS touring pedals on the franken-breezer, and instantly fell in love. The MKS touring pedals are wide enough to accommodate my casual shoes (even those with wide tread like Keen sandals, ect). The Powergrips straps are long enough to span my shoes and situated on the pedal just right to retain my feet. My ultimate goal was to eventually try this pedal setup on my fixed gear commuter.

Well, the fixed gear is now wearing the touring pedals with powergrips and I couldn't be happier. I was concerned about pedal strike, given the wide platform pedal, but it hasn't been an issue so far. It took a little getting used to slipping into the grips while the pedal was moving, but it's not impossible and gets easier every day. The Powergrips have just enough retention that my feet feel secure on the pedals, even spinning very high RPMs going downhill.

The only major differnce I've been able to notice on the fixed gear with powergrips is a slight decrease in power moving uphill compared to clipless. I know this is only temporary as my body and muscles will adjust to the challenge and get stronger to compensate.

For those that know, you know... not being beholden to one type of shoe to ride your bike is pretty liberating. Not that I'm spewing hate for clipless (I enjoy it immensely), but for city riders who are on and off their bikes often, the freedom to wear casual shoes awesome.